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HHS taps former Louisiana health official for CTO post

Bruce Greenstein, a private-sector executive with public-sector experience at the state and federal levels, is the new chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The CTO office at HHS in recent years has been a hub of efforts to make acquisition for the huge, federated agency more nimble and responsive to the fast pace of technological change and market innovations. Former HHS CTO Bryan Sivak won Fed 100 honors in 2015 in part for establishing a Buyers Club program for the agency. Greenstein is replacing Susannah Fox, who stepped down in January.

Greenstein worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as an associate regional administrator and director of the Office of Waivers from 2003 to 2005, and as a senior health policy coordinator from 1997 to 2000. He also served as a senior analyst on the Government Accountability Office's health team.

Greenstein spent the last four years in the private sector, most recently as the president a technology company specializing in behavioral health called Quartet Health. Before that, Greenstein served as the CEO of Blend Health Insights, an advisory firm focused on health care, government and technology. He has also worked as the managing director of worldwide health at Microsoft, where he interfaced with both government and private-sector officials.

At the state level, he served as the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the state's largest cabinet department, under Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, where he managed a $9 billion budget and about 11,000 employees.

On his LinkedIn page, Greenstein lists accomplishments during his tenure, including the privatization of state mental hospitals and the Louisiana State University hospital system, as well as reduced spending and the number of full-time department employees.

In 2013, Greenstein resigned from his state cabinet post and was later indicted on perjury charges stemming from statements he made during his Louisiana confirmation hearing, and about his role in awarding of a $200 million state government contract to a Maryland-based company where he was formerly employed. The perjury charges were dropped in 2016.